Banks follow the money – ready for a new “money center” in the Mideast?

Remember the famous quote attributed to infamous bank robber Willie Sutton?
“I rob banks because that’s where the money is.”

Where’s the money these days? Perhaps the Mideast? It may be that the traditional money centers — New York, London — aren’t where the money is anymore.

Banks with the capital resources to do so, or who need capital, may relocate operations elsewhere — any why not? That’s where the money is. A leading Swiss bank has just announced a baby step in that direction. I predict more to follow. “UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, said it is relocating six bankers to Dubai as part of plans to expand investment-banking operations in the Middle East. Enrique Febrer-Bowen, managing director of UBS’s equity capital markets group, and Simon Dowker, a director in the company’s financial sponsors advisory business, are among bankers moving to Dubai”.